The lobby area of the new Guardians of the Galaxy- Mission Breakout! is full of display cases owned by the character The Collector at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday, May 17, 2017. The ride, similar to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror it replaced, gives the riders a sensation of free-falling as doors open with new visual effects from the Guardians of the Galaxy universe. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

With Disney California Adventure closing its Paradise Pier attractions this week to re-theme them to Pixar franchises, let’s look at Disney’s track record with similar changes in its parks.

Disney frequently changes its attractions, with seasonal overlays such as Haunted Mansion Holiday, new shows such as the “Frozen” musical replacing “Aladdin, and tear-downs such as Big Thunder Mountain replacing the Mine Train through Nature’s Wonderland. But I am looking just at rethemes, where Disney kept the same underlying attraction and just changed the characters, thematic setting or narration.

THE WINS

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout: Disney’s best re-theme swapped a half-hearted “Twilight Zone” story line that lacked any of that franchise’s usual ironic punishment with an upbeat romp featuring one of Disney’s hottest properties.

2. Frozen Ever After: While some fans understandably complained about Disney bringing fictional characters into the previously non-fiction-driven Epcot, re-theming the formerly ignored Maelstrom ride in the park’s Norway pavilion made it one of Disney World’s must-see attractions.

Visitors to Disneyland can go on a trip underwater in the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. While the current attraction has an adventure based on the Disney-Pixar movie “Finding Nemo,” the submarines are upgraded versions of the original “Submarine Voyage” that debuted in 1959. (Photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)

3. Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: Adding Pixar characters to Disneyland’s submarine ride not only filled its once-empty queues, it gave Disney an excuse to keep this unique ride experience open for a new generation of fans.

4. Gran Fiesta Tour: The addition of the Three Caballeros – Donald Duck, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles – to the former El Rio del Tiempo boat ride inside Epcot’s Mexico pavilion helped rescue an attraction that was sliding into self-parody with aging video clips of tourists in Mexico.

5. Pirates’ Lair on Tom Sawyer Island: Designed to promote Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, this retheme fits pretty well with the established Tom Sawyer theme of the island, as Tom and Huck seem like the type of kids that wouldn’t turn down a pretend pirate adventure. But let’s knock this down a level for Disneyland closing the fort and treehouse over the years instead of maintaining the island to the standards of its Orlando and Tokyo siblings.

Tarzan’s Treehouse, formerly the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in Adventureland at Disneyland. (File photo by Mark Eades, Orange County Register/SCNG)

7. The Seas with Nemo and Friends: Adding the Nemo characters to Epcot’s aquarium might have increased its entertainment level, especially for younger visitors, but it undercut the educational value of what used to be a much more informative pavilion.

THE AWFUL LOSSES

8. Stitch’s Great Escape: Disney World’s original ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter confused some fans with its mess of a narrative, but it didn’t make them as angry as many have felt after sitting through this crude production that ignores everything that made Stitch endearing to fans.

9. Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management: When a fire struck the theater and closed Disney World’s revised show with Iago and Zazu from “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” fans actually cheered the closure online. So Disney wisely brought back a shortened version of the original Tiki Room production after repairing the theater.

10. Journey Into Your Imagination: Disney’s removal of the original Dreamfinder and Figment characters from Epcot’s beloved Journey Into Imagination ride to create a sequel to the “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience” show might be its worst theme park move ever. Disney minimized the damage by creating a third version that returned Figment, but Dreamfinder remains AWOL.